Actually two weeks:
Arizona exercised its side of a mutual contract option on Henry Blanco. Blanco declined his side of the option. Arizona then signed Blanco to a contract for 2012 with a mutual option for 2013.
Detroit assigns Brad Thomas outright to AAA Toledo.
Mets reinstate Johan Santana from the disabled list.
Philadelphia releases Juan Morillo.
Seattle re-signs Carl Willis as pitching coach.
Toronto declines its 2012 option on Jon Rauch.
Toronto re-signs Bobby Korecky.
Aragua 1, Caracas 0 in Aragua. The game's lone run scored in the third inning, when Jorge Cortes doubled and scored on a Guillermo Rodriguez single. Hector Gimenez had two hits for the Tigres. Yangervis Solarte made his season debut for Aragua and was 0-for-4. Joe Benson was used as a defensive replacement and did not bat. Sergio Perez (Houston) gave up three hits and a walk in 6.2 innings to get the win. Francisco Butto retired the only man he faced for the save.
Margarita 7, Magallanes 5 at Magallanes. The Bravos led 6-0 after two and a half, but Navegantes scored five in the bottom of the third to make it a close game throughout. Sean Burroughs had four hits to lead Margarita. Marcel Prado pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to get the win, with Ronald Belisario retiring all four batters he faced to get the save. Jose Altuve (Houston) had two doubles and a single to lead Magallanes. Deolis Guerra retired all five batters he faced. Albert Suarez (Tampa Bay) allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings to take the loss.
In a game in which no Twins played, Lara edged La Guaira 4-3.
In one that we missed, Lester Oliveros made his debut for Anzoategui Wednesday, allowing a run on three hits in one inning.
In this evening's action, La Guaira is at Zulia, Magallanes hosts Caracas, Margarita travels to Aragua, and Anzoategui goes to Lara.
Brian Dozier walked and scored on a double by Junior Lake (Cubs) in the bottom of the ninth to give Mesa an 8-7 victory over Phoenix.
The double was Lake's third hit of the game, as he also singled and tripled. Tyler Saladino (White Sox) and Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) each singled and doubled. Dozier was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run. Aaron Hicks was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in three. Cole DeVries started and went three hitless innings, walking two and striking out two. Brett Jacobson retired all five batters he faced, striking out two. Jeff Inman (Pittsburgh) got the win despite allowing two runs on a hit and a walk in one inning.
Adeiny Hechavarria (Toronto) hit a home run for the Desert Dogs. Preston Claiborne (Yankees) allowed the winning run in his second inning of work to take the loss.
Mesa hosts Salt River this afternoon.
Bobby Wallace (1873)
Tommy Leach (1877)
Skeeter Webb (1909)
Carl Sawatski (1927)
Dick Groat (1930)
Tito Francona (1933)
Dick Selma (1943)
Doug Corbett (1952)
Jon Shave (1967)
Eric Karros (1967)
Carlos Baerga (1968)
Kevin Frederick (1976)
Carmen Cali (1978)
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to davidwatts, kalarson, and eschapp (formerly yickit).
Zulia 4, Aragua 3 in Zulia. The Aguilas scored three in the fourth to overcome a 3-1 Tigres lead. Darin Mastroianni (Toronto) had three hits to lead Zulia, while Freddy Galvis (Philadelphia) drove in three. Moises Melendez retired both men he faced to get the win and Arcenio Leon (Houston) gave up just a walk in the ninth to get the save. Lastings Milledge doubled and singled to lead Aragua. Joe Benson was 0-for-3. Victor Moreno took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
In games not involving Twins players, Magallanes defeated Lara 4-1, La Guaira edged Caracas 7-6, and Margarita easily beat Anzoategui 11-3.
In other Twins news, we note that Rene Rivera has been playing for Licey in the Dominican League. He is currently 5-for-12 (.417).
In the Venezuelan League tonight, La Guaira is at Lara, Caracas is at Aragua, and Margarita travels to Magallanes.
For the second straight day, Mesa lost a game late, as the Desert Dogs scored four in the eighth to defeat the Solar Sox 11-8 in Phoenix.
Grant Green (Oakland) doubled, tripled, and homered, driving in three to lead the Desert Dogs. Chad Huffman (Cleveland) singled, doubled, and hit a grand slam in the eighth, driving in five. Brodie Greene (Cincinnati) had three hits. Cory Burns (Cleveland) pitched a scoreless eighth to get the win, and Brad Boxberger (Cincinnati) worked a scoreless ninth for the save
For the Solar Sox, Brian Dozier, Brandon Short (White Sox), and Josh Vitters (Cubs) each singled and doubled. For the game, Dozier was 2-for-5 with two runs. Xavier Avery (Baltimore) also had two hits. Chris Herrmann pinch-hit and was 0-for-1, Bruce Pugh allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings. The loss went to Brandon Kloess (White Sox), who surrendered the eighth-inning grand slam, giving up three hits and a walk.
Mesa hosts Phoenix this afternoon.
Jim McCormick (1856)
Larry Kopf (1890)
Homer Summa (1898)
Johnny Keane (1911)
Bob Feller (1918)
Ken Holtzman (1945)
Dwight Evans (1951)
Larry Herndon (1953)
Bob Welch (1956)
Paul Quantrill (1968)
Armando Benitez (1972)
There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Twins born on this day. It should be noted that Homer Summa is a great name for a ballplayer.
Zulia 5, Aragua 3 in Zulia. The Aguilas built a 5-0 lead after six innings. Darin Mastroianni singled and doubled for Zulia, scoring twice. Dwayne Pollock gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in six innings to get the win. Edgardo Alfonzo had two hits to lead the Tigres. Joe Benson was 1-for-3 and drove in a run. Cesar Ciurcina pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. Darin Downs (Florida) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk in 4.2 innings.
In Venezuelan action not involving Twins players, Caracas overwhelmed La Guaira 14-4, Lara defeated Magallanes 5-3, and Anzoategui edged Margarita 1-0.
In other Caribbean action involving Twins players, Estarlin de los Santos made his debut for Cibao in the Dominican League. He was used as a pinch-hitter and laid down a successful sacrifice bunt as Cibao lost to Escogido 3-2. Gonzalo Sanudo made his debut for Culiacan in the Mexican League. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, giving up only a walk, as Culiacan lost to Mazatlan 10-4.
In today's Venezuelan League action, Aragua is at Zulia, Lara visits Magallanes, Caracas travels to La Guaira, and Caribes is at Margarita.
Surprise scored two in the bottom of the ninth to knock off Mesa 7-5.
Kevin Mattison (Florida) and his awesome mustache hit a two-run homer to win the game. Mattison also tripled and had three RBIs. Christian Betancourt (Atlanta) had three hits including a home run, Tim Beckham (Tampa Bay) doubled and homered, and Joe Terdoslavich (Atlanta) also hit a home run. Alejandro Ramos (Florida) worked 1.1 scoreless innings to get the win.
Robbie Grossman (Florida) led Mesa with three hits. Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) singled and homered, and Xavier Avery (Baltimore) had two hits. Chris Herrmann was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Sean Gleason (Baltimore) allowed the two-run ninth-inning homer in his second inning of work.
Mesa is at Pheonix this afternoon.
Dutch Zwilling (1888)
Travis Jackson (1903)
Chief Hogsett (1903)
Johnny Vander Meer (1914)
Al Campanis (1916)
Ron Reed (1942)
Tom Paciorek (1946)
Scott Boras (1952)
Paul Hartzell (1953)
Greg Harris (1955)
Willie McGee (1958)
Sam Horn (1963)
Orlando Merced (1966)
Travis Miller (1972)
Orlando Cabrera (1974)
Sidney Ponson (1976)
Dutch Zwilling holds the record for last major leaguer in alphabetical order.